It came on hot and soft and then it tightened up it's tentacles.

SHE HAD A GUN IN HER MOUTH
AND SHE WAS SHOOTING UP IN HER DREAMS
WHEN THE CHAPARONE TOLD US WE'D BEEN CROWNED THE KING AND THE QUEEN

So after a long courtship with a shitty stream rip of the new Hold Steady album, a quality version has leaked. This means I can finally blog about what's easily one of the best albums of the year!

Boys and Girls in America is a departure of sorts for The Hold Steady, which should be scary, but fuck, these guys can do no wrong. The album is much less drunk bar rock and much more dirty teenage drama rock. Sounds stupid, but it's not. Finn tells stories we all secretly wish we lived when were in high school about being fucked up at school dances, overdosing at music festivals, and buying drugs with money won at horse races. You know, the usual. But these songs aren't just the stories, it's the feeling. A lot of people won't understand how songs about being morally remiss can be so affecting, but listening to The Hold Steady reminds me of how much beauty there is in the uglier side of life. It's like that stupid quote you find in the average sorority girls AIM profile that says something like "here's to the nights we'll never remember and the friends we'll never forget", except articulate, interesting, empowering, and engaging.

From the balls out rock and roll on "Same Kooks", to the gloriously well written and powerful "First Night", to the harmonica soloed anthem "Southtown Girls", The Hold Steady have made an album that should change any indie savy highschoolers life, and remind the rest of us how awesome being young was and still is.

This song is unbelievable.

The Hold Steady - First Night

Inside your cigar box forever.

Give me a reason that I can believe in
And I will believe in you
Tell me a reason why I should believe
Cause I want to, I want to
Tell me a story or tell me a secret
It don't have to be nothing new
Just hold on to me while we walk through the leaves
If you want to, if you want to

There's something about Fall that changes everything. Something about the air changes. It's not just the temperature or that fresh crispness that comes at night with the clouds and the smell of wet dirt. Something leaves and something else arrives. Some attribute it to a simple changing of the seasons, but there's something else amock in the month of September. You can feel the heat creeping for summer, you can see the breath of winter rearing it's ugly head, and feel the squish of Spring under your shoes... but Fall... Fall is special.

I feel that since probably last Fall, I've been in a sort of emotional rut. Cut myself off from a lot of things that I've known since wouldn't stay gone forever, but there's something so real about this time of year. Much more a new begining to me than New Years, Fall is when the world changes and takes you with it. Music is no exception.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't gone soft. I still spent gameday drinking whiskey and listening to Mclusky and The Blood Brothers. But it's those other moments that really breathe down your neck like lips held just that close and turn your eyes back inward. There's a sound, there's a voice. There's something going on. Suddenly everything becomes rust.

When the air, the leaves, the sounds, the feeling, and the life all come together with the right music, that's when life suddenly makes all and none of the sense in the world. It's time for housecleaning. It's time to take a step back. It's time to realize that there is no time, only the lives to pass it.

So what is it for you? What is Fall?

For me it's been a couple things. Mostly it's been The Softies. It's been Paul Westerberg at his most seldom and sincere. Reverb and harmonies. Sentiment and virtue lost. Nostalgia all over again.

So let's hear it. What's fall? What are you listening to? Here's a few that have done it for me lately.

The Softies - Fragile, Don't Break
Hem - Leave Me Here
Broken Social Scene - All My Friends
Explosions in the Sky - Your Hand in Mine

I love how at the loss of anyone actually reading this, it turns into my own self indulgent nonsense. But it's my blog, so if I want to waste it's space on my own vague musings, I will.

Biology prevails!

Seriously.

The only man on this planet cooler than Chris Walken.

Just look at him. Look at him and try not to wish you were him. God dammit it hurts how bad I want to be him.

So you know he's fucking sweet at being cool, now check how fucking sweet he is at music. <3 Elvis.

Elvis Costello - Miracle Man

Look at who you're talking to.

Some band called Human Television just put out a record. Turns out it's really fucking good. Catchy rock songs with interesting production and a sound that sets them apart. Good enough for me, I think you'll all love this song.

Human Television - Inconsistent

And then, remember that band The Exploding Hearts? You know, they put out that one album before they (almost) all died in a van crash? Remember how that album is like you're favorite album ever because it's so fucking good, fun, and awesome? Well apparently not all of them died, the one dude started a new band called The Nice Boys, and their self titled album is pretty good power-pop-punk. It's no Guitar Romantic, but it's still worth listening to. This here is a great song.

The Nice Boys - Ain't That Beat

Rest in peace, dudes.

The color of an avacado.

Here's a song off of one of the most underrated albums of the 1970's about Picasso picking up chicks. It's cool because the genre is called proto-punk. Yeah, proto-punk. Don't ask, just download. It's not violent or loud or anything, so even if you're a pussy you can still listen to this.

The Modern Lovers - Pablo Picasso

And hey, if one of these downloads ever goes down and you still want to hear it, leave a comment and I'll put it back up. Commenting is okay to do you know.